An aircraft comprises various parts that may be subject to wear and tear over the service life of the aircraft. Some components may age or fail. Maintenance crews may replace the components as appropriate in response to the wear. To maximize aircraft availability, maintenance teams strive to minimize the replacement time for worn components. However, maintenance teams rely on tools to change components, which add to the time spent to find, use, and replace the tool. Furthermore, maintenance teams may wear gloves that limit their dexterity when changing components.
Reverse-thrust actuators are an example of a component requiring replacement during the service life of an aircraft. A gimbal pin may hold an actuator in place and may be removed to replace the actuator. Additional complexity associated with removal of the pins make actuator replacement time consuming Using removable fasteners and tools while wearing gloves may lead to a maintenance engineer dropping a tool or fastener. Drops can lead to lost fasteners or tools and further increase aircraft downtime.